The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503142
1. RB Blake Corum, Sr., Michigan Most believe that Corum would have been a Heisman Trophy finalist had he stayed healthy down the stretch for the Wolverines. It might have also made U-M national title favorites. He will look to improve on his career totals of 2,492 yards rushing and 31 touchdowns. 2. WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Jr., Ohio State The son of the Indianapolis Colts legend might be as good or better than his father was at this stage of his career. Harrison put up 77 receptions for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, and he had 7 catches for 120 yards and a score against Michigan. 3. OL Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Jr., Penn State Some draft analysts believe that Fashanu would have been the first offensive tackle off the board had he entered the 2023 NFL Draft. Instead, he returned to Penn State for another year and is the top lineman in a conference known for its trench play. 4. QB J.J. McCarthy, Jr., Michigan Michigan found a way to retrofit McCarthy's dual-threat skill set into its smashmouth offense last sea- son, and he played his best football when Corum was out late in the year. The sky is the limit for a player labeled a Heisman candidate and poten- tial first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 5. WR Emeka Egbuka, Jr., Ohio State Harrison and Jaxson Smith-Njigba grabbed most of the headlines in Columbus the last few years, but Egbuka is yet another talented wideout to come off the OSU conveyor belt. His 74 receptions for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns made him more than just a second banana to Harrison. Egbuka has big-play ability in his own right. 6. EDGE J.T. Tuimoloau, Jr., Ohio State While he did not have gaudy numbers to back it up last season, Tuimoloau is one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the country and a potential first- round talent. His game against Penn State (6 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and recovery, 2 interceptions) showed how dominant he can be. 7. RB Donovan Edwards, Jr., Michigan Michigan has a Swiss Army knife at running back in the form of Edwards, who has the ability to be a home run threat out of the backfield and as a receiver. Injuries have hampered him in the early stages of his career, but good health could put more on his plate and take some of the burden off Corum this fall. 8. OL Zak Zinter, Sr., Michigan Zinter is a road grader on the U-M offensive line and easily could be preparing for an NFL training camp this summer. He decided to run it back for one more season and will help the Wolverine offensive line compete for a third straight Joe Moore Award. 9. RB Braelon Allen, Jr., Wisconsin The Badgers figure to be a lot more pass-happy under new head coach Luke Fickell moving forward, but Allen should still be the focal point of the offense after rushing for 2,510 yards and 23 touchdowns during his first two seasons in college. He also has 21 career catches and could get a little more work as a receiver. 10. CB Will Johnson, So. Michigan Johnson enters the 2023 season as Michigan's undisputed No. 1 cornerback, and some have already labeled him a future first-round NFL Draft prospect. He has a proto- typical combination of size, athleticism and ball skills, and he was arguably U-M's best cornerback by the time his true fresh- man season came to a close. The Wolverine's Top 25 Players By School School Offense Defense Total Michigan 6 3 9 Ohio State 4 2 6 Penn State 2 1 3 Wisconsin 2 0 2 Illinois 1 1 2 Maryland 1 0 1 Iowa 0 1 1 Rutgers 0 1 1 Zero – Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue, Northwestern The Wolverine's Top 25 Players In The Big Ten Maryland redshirt senior quar- terback Taulia Tagovailoa passed for 3,008 yards and 18 TDs last season and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 117 Best In The Big Ten By Position QB — J.J. McCarthy, Michigan (No. 4 overall) RB — Blake Corum, Michigan (No. 1) WR — Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State (No. 2)* TE — Cade Stover, Ohio State (No. 11)* OL — Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Penn State (No. 3)* DL — J.T. Tuimoloau, Ohio State (No. 6)* LB — Junior Colson, Michigan (No. 13) CB — Will Johnson, Michigan (No. 10) S — Rod Moore, Michigan (No. 17) *On Michigan's schedule in 2023 11. TE Cade Stover, Gr., Ohio State 12. DT Jer'Zhan Newton, Sr., Illinois 13. LB Junior Colson, Jr., Michigan 14. CB Kalen King, Jr., Penn State 15. EDGE Chop Robinson, Jr., Penn State 16. CB Cooper DeJean, Jr., Iowa 17. S Rod Moore, Jr., Michigan 18. WR Isaiah Williams, Jr., Illinois 19. OL Trevor Keegan, Gr., Michigan 20. OL Donovan Jackson, Jr., Ohio State 21. OL Drake Nugent, Gr., Michigan 22. QB Tanner Mordecai, Gr., Wisconsin 23. QB TauliaTagavailoa, Gr., Maryland 24. LB Tommy Eichenberg, Gr., Ohio State 25. DT Aaron Lewis, Jr., Rutgers